Article for cleaning



Feb 20 1945 R. K. sTULTs ET Al. 2,370,088

ART ICLE FOR CLEANING Filed Oct. 28, 1942 I INVENTORS Ruf/z K. SLLZSPatented Feb. 20, 1945 Ruth K.

stung and naroldL. smits,

New York, N. Y.

Application october' 28, 1942, serial No. 463,592

2 Claims.

This invention relates to cleaning and more particularly to a method andmeans for utilizing cleaning materials, such for example, as soap flakesand cleansing powder/ n An object of this invention is to provide forthe practical and ecient use of cleaning materials. A further object isto provide for the efficientl and dependable cleaning of lobjects suchas dishes. A still further object is to provide a simple and practicalmethod and apparatus for making full use of soap particles or akes insuch a manner that the soap may be moistened and used Without thedisadvantages usually encountered during this procedure.

Cleaning substances, such asv soapf are available in a large variety offorms, such as akes, granules, chips and powder, most of which areparticularly prepared for rapid dissolving in water to form suds; thesesubstances in their various forms are sometimes referred to belowcollectively as soap particles. In normal practice, the soap particlesare poured into a body of water, or water is poured or drawn into abasin containing soap particles. When this occurs, the soap particles donot all Ydissolve because the initial wetting of the individualparticles causes them to stick together and form large lumps oragglomerates. These large lumps will not dissolve readily so that timeis lost, and in fact, alarge amount of soap is wasted. In addition tothis, the undissolved lumps tend to stick to the articles being Washedwith the result that dried soap appears when the articles are dried.

A further diliculty encountered in the past has been that when,forexample,'dishes are to be Washed where there is only one sink, it wasnecessary to form a quantity of suds in the sink and thereafter thedishes couldnot be rinsed. It is a further object of this invention toavoid these diculties.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction,combinations of elements, arrangements of parts and in the several stepsand relation and order of each of the same to one or more of the others,all as will be illustratively described herein, and the scope of theapplication of which will be indicated in the following claims.

In the drawing, in which is shown one of many possible embodiments ofthis invention:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a novel wash cloth representing oneembodiment of the invention;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary view of the lower .portion of Figure 1,showing soap particles as they are poured onto the edge of the dishcloth;

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2 and showing the first step inrolling the dish cloth into a roll;

Figure 4 is a view showing the roll completed;

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 2, but showing the soap particlesdeposited along the longitudinal side edge of the dish cloth;

Figure 6 is a View similar to Figure 4 showing the dish cloth rolledfrom the edge shown in Figure 5; and,

Figure 7 is an enlarged detail view of the fabric of which the dishcloth is formed.

The present embodiment of the invention relates particularly to washingdishes in avnovel and dependable manner.` 1n this embodiment of theinvention, soap flakes are deposited in a strip or pile along one edgeof a dish cloth, and the dish cloth is then rolled to form a roll Withthe strip of soap at the center of the roll. The

dish cloth is of a loosely woven fabric to permit water to flow into andout of the roll, but in doing so the water runs through the severalthicknesses of the fabric which surround the soap. Thus, the Waterenters the roll and comes into direct contact with the soap, and thesoap being in small particles is easily dissolved, forming a very goodsuds. However, due to the faCt that the soap is surrounded by severallayers of the fabric, the soap particles are trapped and held in placeand are not dislodged by the Water. In fact, when the soap particles are-initially wet, the tendency to form agglomerates or lumps, as well asthe tendency to adhere to the fabric, results in the soap being held inplace in the roll.

The roll'itself acts somewhat like a sponge and absorbs water; thisWater is converted into suds and due to the texture of the fabric, theroll, impregnated with suds, is particularly suited for scrubbing soiledsurfaces. Thus, the roll is admirably adaped for actively scrubbingarticles, such as dishes and silverware, there being a directapplication of the suds to the soiled surfaces while the scrubbing istaking place;V No more suds are formed thani are actually used, and nosoap escapes without being formed into suds.

Referring particularly to Figure l of the drawing, the dish cloth 2 hasits four corners folded over to form four pockets 4, 6, 8, and Ill. Eachof these pockets is formed by folding the side edge back as shown andthen stitching it in place. In use, the dish cloth is laid at, as inFigure 1,

and (see Figure 2) a strip of the soap particles, such as soap flakes,is poured onto the lower edge of the cloth between pockets 8 and l0. Theedge of the cloth between pockets 8 and I0 is then folded over the soapas in Figure 3, and the cloth is rolled, starting at this folded edge.When the roll is complete, the ends of the roll itself are tucked intopockets 4 and 6 as shown in Figure 4, and these pockets act as securingmeans to hold the roll from coming apart. Water is then poured or runonto the roll or the roll is dipped into water; as outlined above, thisforms a. fine suds.

The roll itself is used for scrubbing andlit discharges the sudsdirectly onto the surface which is being cleaned. When the soap withinthe roll has been entirely used, the roll is unrolledv and anotherquantity of soap is placed in it. The wet condition of the cloth doesnot interfere with refilling the roll with soap, and in fact, the soaptends to cling to the wet cloth. The dish cloth is of loose fabric, asshown in Figure 7, sothat water can easily enter and leave the center ofthe roll. However, the several layers of cloth surrounding the soap tendtohold the particles of the soap in place, and undissolved particles donot pass from the roll.

When desirable, the cloth of Figure 1 is used by placing a row of thesoap particles along the side of the cloth between pockets 6 and l0, asshown in Figure 6; and, the cloth is then rolled from this side formingthe completed roll shown in Figure 6, with the ends of the roll tuckedinto pockets 8 and 4.

During use, the rate at which the soap dissolves depends upon the amountof Contact `between the soap and the water, andthis depends upon manyfactors, such as the nature of the fabric and the number of layers ofthe fabric surrounding the soap. The roll -of Figure 6 has a largernumber of layers of cloth than does the roll of Figure 4 so that thesingle cloth is adapted to be used for two different rates of .soapdispensing. The rate of soap dispensing `also depends upon the amount ofsoap which is deposited within the roll, and the present embodiment ofthe invention is particularly suited to carry a wide .range ofquantities yof soap. Pockets 4, 6, v8, and l0 are so proportioned as tosecurely `hold the roll from coming apart and to hold the soap in place.rIlhe pockets are formed as `the edges of the cloth are being bound byfolding the corners of the cloth back 'and binding the overlapping edgesin one operation.

When soapparticles such as scouring powder is used, the undissolvedpowder sifts out from the center fof the roll and forms an idealscouring cloth.

As many possible `embodiments may be made of Ythe mechanical features ofthe .above .invention and as -th'e art herein described mig-ht be variedin various lparts, all without departingfrom the scope of the invention,it .is 'to :be understood Vthat all matter herei'nbefore Vset zforthforshown in 'the accompanying drawing lis to :be interpreted asillustrative and not .in a -limi-tingsense'.

We claim:

1. An article comprising, a loose fabric cloth of substantiallyrectangular form having first, second, third and fourth edges with theiirst and third edges opposite to each other and with the second andfourth edges opposite to each other, said cloth being rolled from saidiirst edge into a roll with said i'lrst edge on the inside of the rolland with said third edge on the outside of the roll so that the secondand fourth edges are spirally positioned at the ends of the roll, thecloth .at the juncture of said first and second edges being folded overso that the end of said second edge is folded back on itself with theoverlying edge portions fastened together to form a pocket means, thecloth adjacent the juncture of said first vand fourth edges being foldedover `so that the end of said fourth edge is folded back on itself withthe overlying edge portions fastened together to form a pocket means,and a quantity of soap particles evenly distributed within said clothalong said first edge and between the two pocket means, the edge portionof the cloth along said third edge having its two ends which arerespectively at said second and fourth edgesfolded over with theadjacent end portion of eachof said second and fourth edges overlappingand attached together so as to form pocket means at the ends of saidthird edge into which the roll ends are partially inserted, the edgeportions along said first and third edges being free of attachment tothe adjacent portions of the cloth except at said second and fourthedges.

2. An article comprising, a loose fabric cloth of substantiallyrectangular form having rst,

second, third and fourth edges with the first and third edges 'oppositeto each other and with the .second and fourth edges opposite to eachother, said cloth being rolled from said iirst edge into a roll withsaid first edge on the inside of .the rollv and vwith said third edge onthe outside of the roll so that the second and fourth edges are spirallypositioned at the ends of the roll, the cloth at the juncture of saidiirst and second edges being folded over so that one edge portion at thejuncture overlies a ksimilar edge portion adjacent thereto with theoverlying edge portions fastened` together so as to form a pocket, thecloth adjacent the juncture of said first and fourth edges being foldedover so that one edge portion at .the juncture overlies a similar edgeportion adjacent thereto with the overlying edge portions fastenedtogether so as to form a pocketl and a quantity of soap particles evenlyvdistributed within said cloth along said first edge and between lsaidpockets, the edge portion of the cloth .along said third edge Lhavingtwo end pockets at its ends which are respectively at said second andfourth edges, each of said end pockets being formed .by attachingtogether overlapping edges yof the cloth, the roll being partiallyvinserted at its ends in the respective end pockets, the edge portionsintermediate the ends of said first and third edges lbeing free ofatachment vto the adjacent portion of the cloth.

RUTH K. .STULTS HAROLD L. SI'ULTS.

